


i'll jog your memory

by kennysspace



Series: almost paradise - part two [3]
Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-15
Updated: 2019-12-15
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:15:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21809401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kennysspace/pseuds/kennysspace
Summary: almost paradise: part two - chapter three of fifteenafter the events of tina's party, nancy brings something else to light.
Relationships: Steve Harrington/Henderson Reader, Steve Harrington/Reader, Steve Harrington/You
Series: almost paradise - part two [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1571503
Comments: 2
Kudos: 29





	i'll jog your memory

this is also being updated to my tumblr. you can find it [here](https://yelennabelova.tumblr.com)

* * *

“Woah, hey! Y/N-” Steve’s voice brings your attention from the history paper in your lap - just in time to allow you to dodge out of the way of a rogue basketball.

It bounces against the bleachers to your left and Steve’s able to run over and catch it quickly, shoes squeaking against the shiny hardwood. He throws it back to another player, “Jesus Christ, watch where you throw that thing next time, yeah?”

The coach blows the whistle to signal for the teams to switch, and you pat the empty space next to you as Steve makes his way back over. You toss him your water bottle after he plops down, uttering a brief thank you before taking a large swig. 

“Rough night?” You ask jokingly as he pinches the bridge of his nose; there’s no doubt he’s feeling the effects of the alcohol from last evening’s experience at Tina’s - same as you.

You almost immediately try and force the thought of the previous night from your mind. Although you are thankful you haven’t had the pleasure of bumping into Nancy this morning, there is no doubt it’ll happen eventually. You have no desire to face her after what was said, even if the truth was coming from both sides.

Your jaw clenches as you remember her words - what she had revealed has been spinning inside your head all morning as you’ve wondered if she’s going to tell him how she really feels. Not that you’re wishing she leaves him broken hearted, but it’d be better than finding out now before it’s too late.

Steve takes a deep breath before casting his eyes downwards, tone hardening with his response, “You could say that.”

Your brow furrows in concern at what he implies, spinning the pencil in your fingers as you debate whether or not to inquire further. Maybe you were right - maybe Nancy  _ did _ say something.

It’s not hard to infer; from the short amount of time you’ve had with him today, he hasn’t seemed entirely present. You realize it was naive of you to assume it was just the alcohol.

Steve notices how you grow a bit unsettled beside him, and he looks over to meet your worried gaze, “I’ll tell you later.”

“What time’d you leave?” He asks after, smoothing his hair with his hand, “I was worried, with you biking and all.”

“I don’t know, maybe around-” You look away from him suddenly as he goes to wipe sweat away from his forehead with the bottom of his shirt; the small flash of his stomach making your cheeks flush, “I, um - I don’t know. Eight? Maybe nine? No, eight sounds right.”

Billy watches the interaction take place from where he’s leaning up against the bleachers. His focus catches how you become flustered at Steve’s presence, rambling on and on about absolutely nothing, fiddling with the spine of your notebook as you aggressively try and distract yourself from the boy by your side.

His mouth widens into a into a devious grin as he watches your interactions unfold before him, going completely unnoticed by the other students inside the gymnasium. Your feelings towards Steve become abundantly more clear to him the longer he observes - the way your smile beams in Steve’s direction is a blatant give away.

Steve groans once the coach blows the whistle again, muttering under his breath about how that definitely wasn’t five minutes, and he taps your leg with the back of hand before hopping down, “Be back in a sec.”

He’s barely able to get onto the court before a voice pulls him away, and it’s instantly recognizable as Nancy’s.

Your attention notices the way he tenses as she calls his name, placing his hands on his hips as he silently looks to the coach for permission to speak with her. He only gives a nod of the head before the two of them exit into the November air, and you place your chin on your hand as you wait for them to return.

There’s no denying that it has something to do with last night.

When Steve tries to get an answer from Nancy, when he tries to understand where everything came from, she can’t figure out what to say. After he pleads with her, she finally spits out, “I don’t know! Y/N got in my head and I - ugh!”

And Steve, though he knows you would never harm him, can’t ignore the twist in his gut because  _ you _ did this.

_ You’re _ the reason Nancy left him.

He would have never expected you to do something so harsh and so blatantly …  _ selfish _ . Because you’re closer to him than Nancy ever was, and maybe that’s why it almost hurts more - hearing what you’ve done. And although you’re not afraid of calling him out on his bullshit, this is something else.

Steve almost can’t believe it. Almost.

Billy’s eyes are on you as soon as Steve reappears, watching how your back straightens as you try and capture a glimpse of your friend; he chuckles slightly at your reaction.

It’s funny how obvious your intentions are, regardless of how oblivious Steve is to them. It doesn’t even cross Billy’s mind that your feelings for Steve might be reciprocated - he knows they’re not. And with that thought, he hatches a plan.

Steve can’t even bring himself to look at you; not after what was just revealed to him in the alley. Relief flows through him when the bell rings as soon as the doors shut - he doesn’t want to be anywhere  _ near _ you.

It’s the fact he won’t even smile at in your direction that sets you on edge. It’s not until you follow him after he emerges from the locker room do you get a moment to speak with him.

“Steve!” You call but he doesn’t show any sign of stopping, almost like he’s pretending he hasn’t heard you. You shout for him again and this time he stops before rolling his eyes.

He sighs and turns to you, expression beyond annoyed, “What do you want?”

“What do I want?” You laugh, shifting how your backpack rests on your shoulder, “I wanna know why you’re ignoring me all of a sudden. What, did I do something?”

He huffs and runs a hand through his hair, eyes darting over the other students that pass through the hallway, “Huh, I didn’t think you’d be the type to play dumb.” He folds his arms, “I’ll jog your memory, remember talking with Nancy at Tina’s party?”

Your face pales.

Because  _ of course _ , Nancy’s told him what she had already figured out; that you’ve had feelings for him his whole time and this is how he reacted - he pushed you away.

Pain shocks your system and from Steve’s scoff, it shows on your face.

“Yeah,” His tone is as bitter and unwavering as Nancy’s was the night prior, and it only makes you ache with hurt even more, “I heard.”

You thought you knew him better - you thought his rejection would be kinder than this. Apparently you were wrong.

Steve can’t believe you would betray him like that. He knows you never liked the two of them together all that much, but telling Nancy to breakup with him? It was too far.

He hates that you look so wounded and it still tugs his heart strings because  _ you _ did this to him and you don’t deserve his sympathy.

“I see,” You mutter, barely audible. He can see tears shining in your eyes and curses under his breath before you continue, “If you don’t want to talk to me anymore or, uh, be friends with me… I understand.”

Steve doesn’t want to say yes; he wants to shake his head and tell you that these last months with you by his side have been the best of his life.

But he thinks about the party, he thinks about Nancy - and he finds himself nodding already.

Your eyes meet for a final time as Steve turns away with a heavy sigh, and you watch and he doesn’t look back once. Your gaze is glued to him until he disappears around the corner.

A year of a cultivated friendship; gone in an instant. You’re left lonely once again.

* * *

Wind whips outside and it sends multicolored leaves through the air. They swirl on top of each other and catch your attention while blowing past the store front; your eyes glaze blankly over them when they collide with the window pane.

Your palm holds up your head as you lean against the counter. Your whole body feels heavy with guilt; if you didn’t regret blowing up on Nancy before, you definitely do now. But that’s not what’s causing your brain to overthink every little detail.

It was so  _ easy _ for Steve to turn on you. In a matter of mere seconds, his opinion had completely flipped and it’s like how it used to be - you don’t mean a damn thing to him.

You try and force the thought of that boy from your mind, but no matter how hard you try, you’re not able to focus on anything else. Even when he’s no longer a part of your life, he’s still all consuming.

Everything reminds you of him.

“Oh come on!” Steve had said as you opened the boxes of inventory you were unpacking, “This job is loads better!”

“You  _ do _ realize that this means we’re gonna have to start paying for pizza, right?”

Steve’s open jaw shut immediately as he pondered your point, and you rolled your eyes when you heard him curse under his breath at the realization. The smile that crept over your lips couldn’t be helped.

“Well, anyways,” He continued on as his back slouched against the wall; his voice was laced with a teasing tone, “This means that I get to come and visit you more often.”

“Lucky me,” You deadpanned as you jotted down the amount of packages before you glanced to him briefly. A light laugh came from your throat at the offended look over his face - it dissipated quickly at the sight of your joy.

“In that case, I’m sure you don’t want  _ these _ then,” Steve emphasized his words with the sound of a paper bag crinkling in his hand, and your expression brightened once you realized that it was fast food.

“It that-?”

“Oh, this? Just your  _ favorite _ ?” Steve taunted, his smirk grew wider and wider at your reaction. Your tongue clicked inside your mouth before you moved closer to grab the bag, which he pulled right out of your reach before you could.

“If you bring this every time, you can come in and bother me as much as your heart desires, Steven.”

He tossed it to you; Steve wasn’t able to keep you waiting much longer. Watching your mood become instantly enhanced by his gesture made him promise to stop in at every opportunity, “Can’t wait.”

Your heart had swelled at what he had inferred - his selflessness made your body feel all warm and fuzzy.

But now, thinking back on that moment only a few months prior, you only feel numb.

If you had known what was going to become of your friendship, you think that maybe you wouldn’t have even attempted to be close with Steve - the pain of this heartbreak is too much for you to handle.

How he took the news of your true feelings for him has left a gaping hole inside your soul; you always figured that if you ever  _ did _ tell him, he would turn you down with grace.

It was  _ you _ , after all.

But instead, you were greeted with aggression and hostility and you haven’t seen Steve act like that since … well, in over a year.

It physically hurts you to imagine living without him - having Steve as a friend was far better than not having him at all. But you didn’t cover the trail well enough and now your greatest fear has become the new reality.

You’ll never get to speak with him again, hear him laugh at his own ridiculous jokes, or belt out the latest hit in his car because Steve doesn’t want anything to do with you. The tears are flowing over your cheeks before you comprehend them.

You shouldn’t have let your gaze linger on his face for that extra second, or allow your speech to stutter when he complimented you (which was often). The signs were so clear - you’re surprised that Nancy didn’t figure it out sooner; she was always good with reading people.

“How’re things looking out here?” Bob’s cheery voice echoes from the back room, and you frantically attempt to dry your face with your sleeve as he approaches, “Finish up the inventory list?”

You clear your throat before answering, but your words still waver, “Uh, yeah I did. And I labelled the sale items, swept up the leaves-”

“No customers, I’m guessing?” His clipboard clatters slightly when he places it down before coming to your side, hands gripping the edge of the counter. You shake your head, gaze still cast outwards towards the doors, “Just trying to keep myself busy.”

Bob’s head turns to you as he notices your tone laced with despair, brow furrowing at the redness surrounding your eyes.

“I’m fine. Long day,” You sniffle and wave away his concern as he shifts next to you, mouth pressing into a firm line at your response.

“You know, why don’t you go ahead and go home.”

“Really, I’m okay. I can work-”

“Y/N, please,” Bob says more sternly but without losing his gentle touch, effectively quieting your protests, “And I’m your boss, so you have to listen to me.”

You sigh, realizing that you’re not going to get very far attempting to argue with him. Not that you would want to - he doesn’t deserve that.

Fatigue begins to impact your thinking as you realize just how tired from today’s events you truly are, and after giving a slight nod and receiving a firm pat on the shoulder, you grab your pack and exit the store.

You can only muster a wave to your mother when you come through the front door; your half-hearted greeting lights worry in her. Against her better judgement, she decides to leave you be.

Once the door to your bedroom has been shut behind you, the tears silently come flooding once again at the thought of enduring the rest of your days without him. It’s not until after you’ve exhausted yourself from crying further do you finally fall asleep; your cheek squished against the damp pillowcase.


End file.
